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VW CEO chides G7 Leaders for failing to set coal phase-out date

By: Bloomberg 15th June 2021 Volkswagen’s CEO criticized Group of Seven (G7) leaders for failing to set a firm date to phase out coal power, saying it’s senseless to let electric vehicles run on dirty energy. “That’s not enough, @G7. Disappointing outcome,” VW CEO Herbert Diess tweeted Tuesday. “We need to exit coal much... →

Tribunal approves the Motus Group’s acquisition of Kia, Honda dealerships

By: Irma Venter 14th June 2021 The Competition Tribunal has unconditionally approved the Motus Group’s acquisition of the North Motor Group’s Kia Bryanston and Honda Sandton motor dealerships. The Tribunal has concluded that the transaction does not substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market.... →

Solar roll-out at Ford to wrap up in Q4, Phase 2 to start delivering gas in 2022

By: Irma Venter 14th June 2021 The 13.5 MW, R135-million solar carport project at Ford South Africa’s Silverton assembly plant, in Pretoria, should be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, says Uhuru Energy CEO Mark Kaplan. The project forms part of a larger programme – Project Blue Oval – to develop an integrated... →

2021 Car of the Year finalists announced

By: Irma Venter 11th June 2021 The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) has announced the 23 finalists for the 2021 South African Car of the Year award. Besides the overall winner’s crown, the finalists can also win in one of nine categories: budget; compact; family compact; family; premium; performance; new... →

Ford to help dealers speed up repairs through wearable tech

By: Irma Venter 11th June 2021 Ford South Africa is rolling out a new, high-tech approach to vehicle repairs at its dealerships. The local arm of the US carmaker has already conducted a pilot study of the RealWear HMT-1 Hands-free Remote Collaboration Tool, which remotely connects Ford dealership technicians with the company’s... →

May new-vehicle sales, exports up 198% and 197% respectively

11th June 2021 New-vehicle sales jumped by 197.8% year-on-year to 38 337 units in May, reports Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council. An estimated 33 642 units, or 87.8%, were dealer sales, with 8.2% going to the vehicle rental industry, 2% to government and 2% to industry corporate fleets. →

BMW SA’s first South African CEO on the struggling premium market and electromobility

By: Irma Venter 11th June 2021 The name Peter van Binsbergen may sound German, but the new CEO of BMW Group South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa (BMW SA) carries a South African passport and ID. He can also still speak Afrikaans, despite spending several years abroad. The 54-year-old, who took up his new position on January 1,... →

uYilo Kick Start Fund opens for 2021 applications

By: Irma Venter 10th June 2021 The uYilo Kick Start Fund has opened for applications for 2021, with successful companies or entrepreneurs to receive up to R1-million in grant funding, aimed at assisting promising e-mobility projects to reach commercialisation. The uYilo eMobility Programme first provided Kick Start funding to... →

Hiten Parmar

Project to harmonise African automotive standards showing progress, says AAAM

By: Irma Venter 10th June 2021 The project to harmonise standards across the automotive sector in Africa is progressing well, reports the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM). The AAAM says the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is continuing its support to the African Organisation for Standardisation... →

Former Mahindra SA boss returns as KLT Automotive SA CEO

By: Irma Venter 9th June 2021 Former Mahindra South Africa (Mahindra SA) boss Ashok Thakur has been appointed as the CEO of KLT Automotive and Tubular Products South Africa (KLT Automotive SA). Thakur (60) has been involved in international business in Africa for the past 25 years. →

Ashok Thakur

EU’s Green Deal will have wide-ranging impact on SA exports, cautions Van Zyl

By: Irma Venter 8th June 2021 Europe’s Green Deal is not just a vision or an idea, but a well-funded policy that is being implemented, and that is set to have a wide-ranging impact on South African exports, says Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) executive chairperson Dr Johan van Zyl. Van Zyl stepped down earlier this year as... →

Johan Van Zyl

First-quarter GDP up 4.6%

By: Donna Slater 8th June 2021 South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a yearly rate of 4.6% during the first quarter of 2021, reports Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The mining and quarrying sectors combined grew by 18.1%, contributing 1.2 percentage points to the overall GDP figure, while the... →

Nissan SA kicks off Navara production, exports to start in Q3

By: Irma Venter 7th June 2021 Nissan South Africa has started production of the new Navara pickup at its Rosslyn plant, with the first local customers to receive their double-cab units this month. The plant is currently operating at one shift, producing 134 units a shift, excluding overtime, and including Navara, NP200 and... →

Shafick Solomons

Nissan SA trains technicians for new Ghana plant

By: Irma Venter 4th June 2021 Twelve Ghanaian technicians have wrapped up their three-month training course at the Nissan Rosslyn plant on the assembly of the new Navara pick-up, in anticipation of the opening of a Nissan plant in their home country next year. The first Navara pick-ups for customers are expected to start... →

Beware warranty pitfalls as aftermarket guidelines come into effect, cautions Nada

By: Irma Venter 4th June 2021 Consumers have to be aware that taking their vehicle to an independent service provider (ISP) while it is still under warranty may result in some segments of that warranty being voided, should the work, or part fitted, not be up to standard, cautions National Automobile Dealers’ Association... →

Mark Dommisse

Vehicle exports decline by R26bn, but component makers post a new high

By: Irma Venter 4th June 2021 The value of total automotive exports from South African declined by R26-billion, or 12.9%, from the record R201.7-billion reported in 2019, to R175.7-billion in 2020. This is according to the Automotive Industry Export Council’s newly released 2021 Automotive Export Manual. →

Auto-sector readiness to implement new aftermarket guidelines under scrutiny

By: Irma Venter 4th June 2021 Naamsa | the Automotive Business Council says the local automotive industry is assessing its state of readiness to implement the Automotive Aftermarket Guidelines on July 1. These guidelines were published by the Competition Commission of South Africa on December 10 and aim to provide improved... →

New-vehicle sales outpacing forecasts – NADA

By: Irma Venter 2nd June 2021 New-vehicle sales are continuing to outpace forecasts as the South African automotive industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, says the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA). According to Naamsa | the Automotive Business Council, 38 337 new vehicles were sold in the domestic... →

Mark Dommisse

Construction of Tshwane SEZ progressing well – October

By: Irma Venter 2nd June 2021 Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) chairperson Lionel October says he is satisfied with the progress made on the construction of the roughly R8-billion project. October visited the TASEZ site, located next to the Ford Ranger assembly plant in Silverton, with a team of officials... →

Ford appoints new sales, marketing, government affairs directors

By: Irma Venter 1st June 2021 Ford has announced a series of leadership and organisational changes for South Africa, effective from June 1, “which are aimed at accelerating its strategic transformation plan and strengthening its automotive operations”. These changes will see government affairs executive director Dhiren... →

Dhiren Vanmali

New-vehicle sales increased by 198% in May, exports up 197%

By: Irma Venter 1st June 2021 New-vehicle sales jumped by 197.8% year-on-year to 38 337 units in May, reports Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council. An estimated 33 642 units, or 87.8%, were dealer sales, with 8.2% going to the vehicle rental industry, 2% to government and 2% to industry corporate fleets. →

Mercedes-Benz to introduce green steel in vehicles in 2025

By: Irma Venter 1st June 2021 German car maker Mercedes-Benz has taken an equity stake in Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel (H2GS) as a method to introduce carbon-dioxide-free (CO2-free) steel into series production. H2GS was founded in 2020 and aims to build a large-scale fossil-free steel production facility in northern... →

2021 Car of the Year finalists announced

By: Irma Venter 31st May 2021 The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) has announced the 23 finalists for the 2021 South African Car of the Year award. Besides the overall winner’s crown, the finalists can also win in one of nine categories: budget; compact; family compact; family; premium; performance; new... →

Composer Hans Zimmer partners with BMW M to produce ‘sound portfolio’ for EVs

By: Irma Venter 31st May 2021 The throaty roar of an eager engine is often one of the main selling points for those who love performance cars, such as the BMW M range. However, this becomes problematic in zero-emission battery electric vehicles that produce no engine noise. BMW is tackling this problem through a collaborative... →

Renzo Vitale and Hans Zimmer discuss how they created driving sounds for the electric BMW M range

Draft Green Paper on electric vehicle production out for public comment

By: Irma Venter 28th May 2021 The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has issued a Draft Green Paper on the Advancement of New-Energy Vehicles in South Africa. New-energy vehicles (NEVs) include hybrids, battery electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel-cell vehicles. →

Fleet operators urged to time changeover to EVs ‘correctly’

By: Irma Venter 28th May 2021 There is a “very real danger” that fleet owners may be stuck with stranded assets if they do not time the changeover to battery electric or fuel cell vehicles correctly, says GridCars MD Winstone Jordaan. GridCars is a South African electric vehicle (EV) charging solution specialist. →

Vehicle prices increasing sharply, with trend set to continue

By: Irma Venter 28th May 2021 The latest TransUnion South Africa Vehicle Pricing Index (VPI) reveals some bad news for prospective car buyers: new-vehicle prices rose by almost three times the current inflation rate in the first quarter of the year and are expected to continue increasing in coming months. At the same time,... →

Naamsa cautions domestic market not to lose competitiveness

By: Donna Slater 27th May 2021 naamsa The Automotive Business Council has welcomed the release of the Auto Green Paper on the advancement of so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs), which was published by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) for public comment last week. The organisation notes, however, that... →

Barloworld's Southern African, Eurasian order books strong

By: Donna Slater 24th May 2021 Industrial processing, distribution and services company Barloworld reports that its industrial equipment and services division performed well in the six months ended March 31, despite challenges. Barloworld’s Equipment Southern Africa division delivered a solid performance despite lower mining... →

Barloworld group CEO Dominic Sewela

Naamsa assessing industry readiness to implement Competition Commission’s aftermarket guidelines

By: Irma Venter 21st May 2021 Naamsa | the Automotive Business Council says the local automotive industry is assessing its state of readiness to implement the Automotive Aftermarket Guidelines on July 1. These Guidelines were published by the Competition Commission of South Africa on December 10 and aim to provide improved... →

Mikel Mabasa

Firms pledge R18m to help boost manufacturing in South Africa, rest of the continent

By: Irma Venter 21st May 2021 The advancement of manufacturing in South Africa and on the rest of the continent has received a boost from four South African manufacturers. JSE-listed groups Illovo Africa, Metair and The Foschini Group (TFG), as well as local vehicle manufacturer Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM), have pledged... →

Van Zyl back at TSAM to help plot company’s strategy

By: Irma Venter 21st May 2021 Dr Johan van Zyl has stepped down as Toyota Motors Europe president and CEO, and has returned to Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) to serve as executive chairperson. Van Zyl was TSAM president and CEO, as well as Africa region CEO, before his departure for Europe six years ago. →

New guidelines to usher more SMMEs, black businesses into aftersales value chain

By: Irma Venter 21st May 2021 The newly drafted guidelines for the automotive aftermarket sector, set to take effect on July 1, will allow for the increased participation of small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), and/or black-owned firms in South Africa’s aftersales value chain, says the Automotive Industry... →

April new-vehicle sales reveal continuing rebound, but supply glitches loom large

By: Irma Venter 21st May 2021 On paper, the South African new-vehicle market grew by an astounding 6 133.3% in April, compared with the same month last year. However, this is not a fair comparison, as South Africa was in a Covid-19-induced hard lockdown during April last year, with only 574 units sold for the entire month. →

Glencore, CMOC and ERG to pilot blockchain solution for cobalt tracing

By: Creamer Media Reporter 20th May 2021 Major metals and mining companies CMOC, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) and Glencore are, in collaboration with battery material supplier Umicore, piloting ReISource – a solution to trace responsibly produced cobalt from the mine to the electric car. Re|Source has been designed to proactively... →

ASM cobalt operations in the DRC

DTIC publishes draft green paper on electric vehicle production

By: Irma Venter 18th May 2021 The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has issued a Draft Green Paper on the Advancement of New-Energy Vehicles in South Africa. New-energy vehicles (NEVs) includes hybrids, battery electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel-cell vehicles. →

Ford to help dealers speed up repairs through wearable tech

By: Irma Venter 14th May 2021 Ford South Africa is rolling out a new, high-tech approach to vehicle repairs at its dealerships. The local arm of the US car maker has already conducted a pilot study of the RealWear HMT-1 Hands-free Remote Collaboration Tool, which remotely connects Ford dealership technicians with the... →

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